Females and Housing First: An analysis of 18-month outcomes in a randomized controlled trial

The main objective of this research was to qualitatively examine the impacts of Housing First (HF) specifically on those participants who identified themselves as female in response to question asking what their gender was. The data analyzed are from a larger, muti-site, randomized controlled trial. χ² analysis was used to compare the life changes (coded as positive, neutral, or negative) experienced by 64 females (42 HF and 22 TAU). An in-depth qualitative analysis was conducted on 45 of these participants (23 HF and 22 TAU). Significantly more female HF participants reported making positive life changes from baseline to 18-month than those in TAU. Relative to females in TAU, female HF participants reported a number of specific positive changes, including enhanced safety, improved recovery in mental illness, greater reductions in drug use, and individual changes. The implications of findings for strengthening HF programs to meet the unique needs of female participants are discussed.